Sheet member transporting apparatus and recording apparatus having sheet member transporting apparatus

ABSTRACT

A sheet member transporting apparatus in which increase in number of components is restrained to reduce time and effort for assembly even when a curved route portion having a level difference in the direction of gravitational force is provided in a midsection of a transporting route, and a recording apparatus having the sheet member transporting apparatus are provided. A pivotable member configured to be capable of supporting a printing surface of a sheet fed by a sheet feed roller toward the downstream side pivots about a pivot shaft extending along the width direction of the sheet intersecting the direction of transport of the sheet so as to draw a curved trajectory having the level difference in the direction of gravitational force to receive the sheet pivoted together with the pivoting member and transport the sheet toward the downstream side in the direction of transport.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-053370,filed Mar. 10, 2010 is expressly incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a sheet member transporting apparatusconfigured to transport a sheet member subjected to printing along atransporting route including a curved route portion having a leveldifference in the direction of gravitational force, and a recordingapparatus having the sheet member transporting apparatus.

2. Related Art

In the related art, an ink-jet printer is widely known as a recordingapparatus configured to perform recording by causing a recordingmaterial to adhere to a sheet member. Such a printer is configured toperform printing (image formation) on a sheet as the sheet member byejecting ink (recording material) supplied to a recording head fromnozzles formed in the recording head.

Recently, as one of the printers configured as described above, there isa type of printer having a curved U-turn transporting path having alevel difference in the direction of gravitational force in a midsectionof the transporting route as described in JP-A-2006-197179. In otherwords, in the printer described in JP-A-2006-197179, space saving isachieved by causing sheets supplied from a sheet feed tray to beinverted in a portion of the U-turn transporting path and the sheetstransported through the U-turn transporting path to be discharged onto asheet discharge tray provided at a position above the sheet feed tray.

In the curved route portion having a level difference in the directionof gravitational force in a midsection of the transporting route as theU-turn transporting path described above, the sheet is transported whilecurving in the direction of gravitational force. Therefore, for example,when transporting a sheet having no elasticity, the sheet may fail to betransported because the sheet collapses under its own weight.Accordingly, in the case of the printer disclosed in JP-A-2006-197179, aplurality of pairs of rollers are provided in the U-turn transportingpath, which is a curved route portion of the transporting route, topinch the sheet at a plurality of positions along the U-turntransporting path and transport the sheet.

However, when the plurality of pairs of rollers are provided in thecurved route portion in the transporting route, there arise problemssuch that the number of components is increased and assembly iscomplicated because mounting of the rollers at a plurality of positionsis required.

SUMMARY

An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that a sheet membertransporting apparatus in which increase in number of components isrestrained to reduce time and effort for assembly even when a curvedroute portion having a level difference in the direction ofgravitational force is provided in a midsection of a transporting route,and a recording apparatus having the sheet member transporting apparatusare provided.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a sheetmember transporting apparatus configured to transport a flexible sheetmember, including: a feeding device configured to feed the sheet membertoward the downstream side in the direction of transport; a supportingdevice having a supporting member which is capable of supporting one ofthe surfaces of the sheet member fed by the feeding device, thesupporting member being pivotable about a pivoting shaft extending alongthe width direction of the sheet member intersecting the direction oftransport of the sheet member, and a transporting device configured toreceive the sheet member pivoted together with the supporting member ina state of being supported by the supporting member of the supportingdevice from the supporting device and transport the sheet member towardthe downstream side in the direction of transport.

In this configuration, by the pivotal movement of the supporting memberabout the pivot shaft, the sheet member also pivots together with thesupporting member in a state in which one of the surfaces thereof issupported by the supporting member, and is transported so as to draw acurved trajectory having a level difference in the direction ofgravitational force. Therefore, even when the sheet member istransported along the transporting route including the curved routeportion having a level difference in the direction of gravitationalforce, the sheet member can be transported irrespective of theelasticity thereof. Therefore, the sheet member can be transportedwithout providing a mechanism such as a roller pair for pinching thesheet member in the transporting route, and hence increase in number ofcomponents is restrained to reduce time and effort for assembly.

It is preferable that the supporting member includes an abutting portionwhich is capable of coming into abutment with the sheet member fed bythe feeding device at a downstream side end thereof in the direction oftransport from an upstream side end thereof in the direction oftransport.

In this configuration, when the sheet member is fed by the feedingdevice, the downstream side end of the sheet member in the direction oftransport comes into abutment with the abutting portion of thesupporting member, so that a feeding force of the feeding device istransmitted to the supporting member via the sheet member. Therefore,the supporting member pivots as if it is pushed by the sheet member.Accordingly, even though a pivoting device for causing the supportingmember to pivot is not provided specifically, the supporting member canbe pivoted using the feeding force of the feeding device which feeds thesheet member.

It is preferable that the supporting member includes a curved surfaceportion which is capable of coming into surface contact with one of thesurfaces of the sheet member.

In this configuration, the sheet member can be transported in a stableposition in a state in which the curved surface portion of thesupporting member and one of the surfaces of the sheet member in a stateof being in surface contact with each other. In other words, theprobability of separation between the supporting member and the sheetmember can be reduced by increasing a frictional force acting betweenthe supporting member and the sheet member by securing a large contactsurface area between the supporting member and the sheet member.

It is preferable that the transporting device includes a transportingroller extending along the width direction, and a rotating deviceconfigured to rotate the transporting roller, the supporting member isformed with a depression at a downstream side end in the direction oftransport, and the depression opposes the transporting roller when thesupporting member is pivoted toward the transporting device.

In this configuration, the supporting member is formed with thedepression which opposes the transporting device when the supportingmember is pivoted toward the transporting device. Therefore, part of thesheet member supported by the supporting member is positioned so as tooppose the depression and hence come into abutment with the transportingroller in association with the pivotal movement of the supportingmember. Then, the sheet member is transported further toward thedownstream side in the direction of transport so as to be entangled withthe rotating transporting roller. Since the supporting member supportsthe sheet member with a portion where the depression is not formed atthe downstream side end in the direction of transport at this time, thesupporting member can transport the sheet member so as to push the sheetmember toward the transporting roller.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided arecording apparatus including a recording device configured to performrecording by causing a recording material to adhere to a sheet member;and the sheet member transporting apparatus described above.

In this configuration, the same effects and advantages as the inventionaccording to the sheet member transporting apparatus described above areachieved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings wherein like numbers reference like elements.

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic front view of a printer according to anembodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a pivotable member positioned at anupstream position.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the pivotable member positioned at adownstream position.

FIG. 4 is a drawing showing an operation when the pivotable member in aninverting mechanism is positioned at the upstream position.

FIG. 5 is a drawing showing an operation in a state of transporting asheet in the inverting mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a drawing showing an operation of the pivotable member in theinverting mechanism in a state of pivoting.

FIG. 7 is a drawing showing an operation when the pivotable member inthe inverting mechanism is positioned at the downstream position.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIG. 1 to FIG. 7, an embodiment in which an aspect ofthe invention is applied to an ink-jet printer, which is one ofrecording apparatuses will be described below. In the followingdescription, expressions “vertical direction” and “lateral direction”indicate directions based on the directions indicated by arrows inFIG. 1. An expression “fore-and-aft direction” indicates a directionorthogonal to a sheet plane in FIG. 1, and a direction indicated by anarrow in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 1, a printer 11 as the recording apparatus includes asheet feed tray 13 configured to allow sheets 12 as flexible sheetmembers to be stored in a stacked manner. The printer 11 also has aninverting mechanism 14 as a supporting device configured to invert thesheet 12 fed from the sheet feed tray 13 at a position up and to theleft of the sheet feed tray 13. Above the sheet feed tray 13, a printingunit 15 configured to perform printing (recording) on the sheet 12inverted in the inverting mechanism 14 by causing ink to adhere to thesheet 12 as a recording material to adhere is disposed.

In other words, when the sheet 12 is fed from the sheet feed tray 13arranged on the upstream side in the direction of transport, the sheet12 passes through the inverting mechanism 14, which constitutes a curvedroute portion having a level difference in the direction ofgravitational force, and is further transported to the printing unit 15positioned on the downstream side in the direction of transport. Thesheet 12 printed by the printing unit 15 is discharged into a sheetdischarge tray, not shown, provided further along on the downstream sideof the printing unit 15 in the direction of transport and upward of thesheet feed tray 13 in the direction of gravitational force (verticaldirection).

As shown in FIG. 1, provided at a position corresponding to a sheet feedport of the sheet feed tray 13 (the position in the upper left portionin FIG. 1) is a sheet feed roller 17 as a feeding device which isintegrally rotatable with a first rotating shaft 16 (see FIG. 4)configured to rotate on the basis of a drive force from a motor, notshown. The sheet feed roller 17 is disposed in contact with a surface ofthe sheets 12 (specifically, a topmost sheet) stored in the sheet feedtray 13. Therefore, the sheets 12 in the sheet feed tray 13 are fedtoward the inverting mechanism 14 on the downstream side (left side) inthe direction of transport one by one by the rotation of the sheet feedroller 17 in a clockwise direction when viewed from the front side (thedirection indicated by an arrow in FIG. 1).

As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 4, the inverting mechanism 14 includes apivot shaft 18 fixed to a frame, not shown, so as to extend along thedirection of width (fore-and-aft direction) orthogonal to the directionof transport of the sheet 12. A pivotable member 19 (supporting member)is pivotably supported by the pivot shaft 18. The pivotable member 19 isformed of resin and is freely pivotable between an upstream position anda downstream position (see FIG. 3 and FIG. 7) in the direction oftransport of the sheet 12 (see FIG. 1 and FIG. 2) so as to draw a curvedtrajectory having a level difference in the direction of gravitationalforce about the pivot shaft 18.

The pivotable member 19 includes a peripheral wall portion 20 having asupporting surface 20 a as a curved surface portion curved into anarcuate shape in cross-section and have a substantially quartercylindrical shape and side wall portions 21 formed at both front andrear ends of the peripheral wall portion 20 so as to extend orthogonalto the peripheral wall portion 20. The pivot shaft 18 is pivotablyinserted into insertion holes 22 formed in the vicinity of the pivotpoints on the substantially fan-shaped side wall portions 21.

The pivotable member 19 is arranged in such a manner that a supportingsurface 20 a of the pivotable member 19 at an upstream side end 19 a (anend on the upstream side in the direction of transport), which is an endof the peripheral wall portion 20 in a counterclockwise direction, isaligned flush with a printing surface 12 a, which is a lower surface ofthe sheet 12 fed by the sheet feed roller 17. In other words, thesupporting surface 20 a is configured to support an surface (theprinting surface 12 a) of the sheet 12 fed from the sheet feed tray 13so as to be capable of coming into surface contact with the sheet 12with rotation of the sheet feed roller 17.

Furthermore, in the interior of the pivotal trajectory of the pivotablemember 19 (the curved trajectory having a level difference in thedirection of gravitational force), a shock-absorbing member 23 a isprovided between the pivotable member 19 and the sheet feed tray 13 and,furthermore, a stopper 23 b is provided between the pivotable member 19and the printing unit 15. A position upstream of the pivotable member 19is a position at which the counterclockwise pivotal movement (that is,toward the upstream side direction of transport) of the pivotable member19 is restricted by the sheet feed tray 13 via the shock-absorbingmember 23 a. In contrast, a position downstream of the pivotable member19 is a position where the clockwise pivotal movement (that is, towardthe downstream side in the direction of transport) of the pivotablemember 19 is restricted by abutment of an end of the side wall portion21 in the clockwise direction with the stopper 23 b.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the pivotable member 19 is formed with atleast one (four in this embodiment) depression 24 formed by beingnotched along the vertical direction on a downstream side end 19 b (adownstream end in the direction of transport), which is the end of theperipheral wall portion 20 in the clockwise direction, along thefore-and-aft direction. In other words, the downstream side end 19 b ofthe pivotable member 19, which corresponds to the end of the peripheralwall portion 20 in the clockwise direction, is formed with at least one(five in this embodiment) projection 25 along the fore-and-aftdirection. Formed on each of the projections 25 at a distal end (thedownstream side end in the direction of transport) thereof is ahook-shaped abutting portion 26 projecting from the supporting surface20 a toward the pivot shaft 18. In other words, the abutting portion 26is configured to be capable of coming into abutment with a leading end12 b of the sheet 12 (a downstream side end in the direction oftransport, see FIG. 4) from the upstream side in the direction oftransport when the sheet 12 is fed from the sheet feed tray 13 andtransported on the downstream side along the peripheral wall portion 20.

As shown in FIG. 1, the printing unit 15 includes a transporting unit 28configured to transport the sheet 12 and a recording head 29 as arecording device configured to perform printing (recording) by ejectingink toward the sheet 12 in the course of being transported by thetransporting unit 28.

The transporting unit 28 includes rectangular-shaped platens 30, andalso includes a drive shaft 31 (see FIG. 4) configured to rotate inassociation with driving of the motor (not shown) and a drive roller 32configured to be capable of rotating integrally with the drive shaft 31arranged on the left side of the platens 30. In contrast, a drivenroller 33 extending in the fore-and-aft direction is rotatably arrangedon the right side of the platens 30. A tension roller 34 extending inthe fore-and-aft direction is arranged on the lower side of therespective platens 30. An endless transporting belt 35 (illustration isomitted with the sheet 12 in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3) formed with a number ofair-ventilating holes (not shown) is entrained about the drive roller32, the driven roller 33, and the tension roller 34 so as to surroundthe platen 30.

Then, by driving the drive roller 32 to rotate in the clockwisedirection when viewed from the front, the transporting belt 35 isconfigured to run in the clockwise direction when viewed from the fronton the outer side of the drive roller 32, the driven roller 33, and thetension roller 34. Each of the platens 30 is provided with a suckingdevice (not shown) configured to be capable of sucking the sheet 12 viathe air-ventilating holes formed on the transporting belt 35. Therefore,when the sheet 12 is at a position opposing upper surfaces of theplatens 30, the sheet 12 is transported from the left side as theupstream side in the direction of transport toward the right as thedownstream side in a state of being adhered to the transporting belt 35.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a transporting roller 36 as atransporting device extending in the fore-and-aft direction is providedupward of the drive roller 32. The transporting roller 36 includes asecond rotating shaft 37 configured to rotate on the basis of driving ofa transporting motor 39 as a rotating device and divided rollers 38provided so as to be rotatable integrally with the second rotating shaft37. The divided rollers 38 oppose the depressions 24 formed in theperipheral wall portion 20 when the pivotable member 19 is rotated, andprovided in the same number as the depressions 24 so as to allow theprojections 25 to enter between the divided rollers 38. rotating in thecounterclockwise direction on the basis of the drive force of thetransporting motor 39, the sheet 12 transported by the invertingmechanism 14 is transported toward the platens 30. In this embodiment,the sheet feed roller 17, the inverting mechanism 14, and thetransporting roller 36 described above constitute the sheet transportingapparatus as the sheet member transporting apparatus.

Subsequently, an operation when printing is performed in the printer 11provided with the inverting mechanism 14 as described above will bedescribed.

When the sheet feed roller 17 rotates in a state in which the sheets 12are stored in a stacked manner on the sheet feed tray 13 as shown inFIG. 1, the sheets 12 are fed from the sheet feed tray 13 one by one andare transported toward the inverting mechanism 14 beyond theshock-absorbing member 23 a as shown in FIG. 4. Then, the sheet 12 isfed so that the printing surface 12 a slides over the supporting surface20 a of the pivotable member 19 at a downstream position on the basis ofa feeding force in association with the rotation of the sheet feedroller 17, and is deformed along the curved shape of the supportingsurface 20 a (see FIG. 5). Then, when the sheet feed roller 17 isrotated and the sheet 12 is fed further toward the downstream side inthe direction of transport, the leading end 12 b of the sheet 12 comesinto abutment with the abutting portion 26 of the pivotable member 19.

The pivotable member 19 is rotatably supported with respect to the pivotshaft 18. Therefore, when the sheet feed roller 17 further rotates andfeeds the sheet 12 toward the downstream side in the direction oftransport in the state in which the leading end 12 b is in abutment withthe abutting portion 26, the feeding force of the sheet feed roller 17is transmitted to the pivotable member 19 via the sheet 12. Then, thepivotable member 19 positioned on the downstream side as shown in FIG. 5pivots in the clockwise direction (toward the downstream side in thedirection of transport) about the pivot shaft 18 together with the sheet12 as shown in FIG. 6.

The sheet 12 is supported by the peripheral wall portion 20 in a statein which the printing surface 12 a as one of the surfaces thereof is insurface contact with the peripheral wall portion 20, and moves towardthe downstream side in the direction of transport in a state of beingintegrated with the peripheral wall portion 20 by a frictional forcegenerated between the printing surface 12 a and the supporting surface20 a and hence is reinforced thereby. Therefore, the sheet 12 can betransported through the curved route portion having a level differencein the direction of gravitational force as long as the sheet 12 haselasticity such extent that the feeding force of the sheet feed roller17 can be transmitted to the pivotable member 19 between the sheet feedroller 17 and the pivotable member 19.

Then, since the distance of movement in the vertical direction isshorter from the sheet feed roller 17 to the pivotable member 19 thanfrom the sheet feed roller 17 to the transporting roller 36, sheetshaving less elasticity can be transported.

Then, as shown in FIG. 7, when the pivotable member 19 is moved to thedownstream position, the respective projections 25 of the pivotablemember 19 enter between the divided rollers 38 at a position lower thanan axial line of the second rotating shaft 37. At this time, the leadingend 12 b of the sheet 12 is in abutment with the abutting portion 26.Therefore, portions of the leading end 12 b at the positions of thedepressions 24 come into abutment with the transporting roller 36.

The transporting roller 36 rotates in the counterclockwise directionwhen viewed from the front. Therefore, the sheet 12 coming into abutmentwith the transporting roller 36 is received so that the leading end 12 bcontacts with the transporting roller 36 and is transported furthertoward the downstream side in the direction of transport. When the sheet12 is transported to a position over the platens 30, the sheet 12 istransported in a state of being adhered to the transporting belt 35.Then, ink is ejected from the recording head 29, whereby printing ontothe sheet 12 is achieved.

When the end of the sheet 12 on the upstream side in the direction oftransport (the end on the opposite side from the leading end 12 b)passes through the position of the sheet feed roller 17 toward thedownstream side in the direction of transport, a pressing force of thesheet 12 against the peripheral wall portion 20 which has been generatedon the basis of a restoration force of the sheet 12 deformed thus far isreduced, and the contact surface area between the printing surface 12 aand the supporting surface 20 a is reduced. Therefore, the frictionalforce between the printing surface 12 a and the supporting surface 20 ais lowered, and the pivotable member 19 pivots again toward the upstreamside in the direction of transport under its own weight, and is moved tothe upstream position where the pivotable member 19 comes into abutmentwith the shock-absorbing member 23 a.

According to the embodiment described above, the following effects areachieved.

(1) Due to the pivotal movement of the pivotable member 19 about thepivot shaft 18, the sheet 12 also pivots together with the pivotablemember 19 in a state in which the printing surface 12 a being one of thesurfaces of the sheet 12 is supported by the pivotable member 19, and istransported so as to draw the curved trajectory having a leveldifference in the direction of gravitational force. Therefore, even whenthe sheet 12 is transported along the transporting route including thecurved route portion having a level difference in the direction ofgravitational force, the sheet 12 can be transported irrespective of theelasticity thereof. Therefore, the sheet 12 can be transported withoutproviding a mechanism such as a roller pair for pinching the sheet 12along the transporting route, and hence an increase in number ofcomponents is restrained to reduce time and effort for assembly.

(2) When the sheet 12 is fed by the sheet feed roller 17, the leadingend 12 b of the sheet 12 on the downstream side in the direction oftransport comes into abutment with the abutting portion 26 of thepivotable member 19, whereby the feeding force of the sheet feed roller17 is transmitted to the pivotable member 19 via the sheet 12.Therefore, the pivotable member 19 is pivoted as if it were pushed bythe sheet 12. Therefore, even though a pivoting device for causing thepivotable member 19 to pivot is not provided specifically, the pivotablemember 19 can be pivoted using the feeding force of the sheet feedroller 17 which feeds the sheet 12.

(3) The sheet 12 can be transported in a stable posture in a state inwhich the curved peripheral wall portion 20 of the pivotable member 19and the printing surface 12 a, which is one of the surfaces of the sheet12, are in surface contact with each other. In other words, theprobability of separation between the pivotable member 19 and the sheet12 can be reduced by securing a large contact surface area between thepivotable member 19 and the sheet 12 and increasing a frictional forceacting between the pivotable member 19 and the sheet 12.

(4) The pivotable member 19 is formed with the depressions 24 whichoppose the transporting roller 36 when the pivotable member 19 ispivoted toward the transporting roller 36. Therefore, part of the sheet12 supported by the pivotable member 19 is positioned so as to opposethe depressions 24 and hence come into abutment with the transportingroller 36 in association with the pivotal movement of the pivotablemember 19. Then, the sheet 12 is transported further toward thedownstream side in the direction of transport so as to contact with therotating transporting roller 36. Since the pivotable member 19 supportsthe sheet 12 with the projections 25 at this time, the pivotable member19 can transport the sheet 12 so as to push the sheet 12 toward thetransporting roller 36.

(5) With the provision of the shock-absorbing member 23 a between thesheet feed tray 13 and the pivotable member 19, an impact sound of thepivotable member 19 generated when the pivotable member 19 makes thepivotal movement can be reduced.

The embodiment described above may be modified as follows.

In the embodiment described above, a configuration in which thedepressions 24 are not provided on the pivotable member 19 and amechanism which sends the sheet 12 transported by being supported by thesupporting surface 20 a toward the transporting roller 36 while keepingaway from the supporting surface 20 a is provided may also be employed.Alternatively, a configuration in which the side wall portion 21 is notprovided in the vicinity of the downstream side end 19 b of thepivotable member 19, and the pivotable member 19 is pivoted so as tocause the surface of the sheet 12 opposite from the printing surface 12a to come into abutment with the transporting belt 35 to send the sheet12 onto the transporting belt 35 may also be employed. When aconfiguration without the transporting belt 35 is employed, the sheet 12may be brought into abutment with the drive roller 32. Therefore, bycausing the transporting unit 28 or the drive roller 32 to function asthe transporting device, a configuration without the transporting roller36 may also be employed.

In the embodiment described above, a configuration in which thepivotable member 19 is not provided with the abutting portion 26 mayalso be employed. In other words, when the sheet 12 having elasticity toan extent which generates the sufficient frictional force between thesupporting surface 20 a of the peripheral wall portion 20 and theprinting surface 12 a of the sheet 12 is transported, the pivotablemember 19 can be pivoted without causing the abutting portion 26 and theleading end 12 b of the sheet 12 into abutment with each other.

In the embodiment described above, the easier the pivotal movement ofthe pivotable member 19, the less elastic sheet 12 can be transported.Therefore, a weight may be provided on the opposite side of thepivotable member 19 with respect to the pivot shaft 18 to aid thepivotal movement of the pivotable member 19. Alternatively, weightreduction of the pivotable member 19 may be achieved by forming holes ordepressions on the pivotable member 19 or forming the pivotable member19 by extending or knitting wire or string. Even when the printingsurface 12 a of the sheet 12 and the supporting surface 20 a are inpartly contact with each other, it is considered to be in surfacecontact when the sheet 12 is supported to an extent which can restrainthe deformation in the direction other than the direction ofgravitational force.

In the embodiment described above, a configuration in which the pivotingdevice (for example, motor) for causing the pivot shaft 18 to pivot isprovided and the pivotable member 19 is provided so as to be rotatableintegrally with the pivot shaft 18 may be employed. When providing thepivoting device, the shape of the peripheral wall portion 20 can bemodified arbitrarily such as forming the supporting surface 20 a into aflat shape.

In the embodiment described above, the inverting mechanism 14 may beused arbitrarily as long as it is a curved transporting route portion.In other words, the inverting mechanism 14 may be provided in a readingapparatus such as a scanner or between the printing unit 15 and thesheet discharge tray. The transporting route does not necessarily haveto be a route which inverts the sheet 12 as long as it is curved. Forexample, the inverting mechanism 14 may be provided in a printer whichis configured to feed the sheet 12 from a sheet feed tray providedobliquely and transport the sheet 12 in the curved routes so that thesheet 12 is positioned horizontally and perform printing thereon.

In the embodiment described above, the recording apparatus is applied tothe ink-jet printer 11. However, a recording apparatus which ejects ordischarges liquid other than ink may also be employed. The liquidejecting apparatus in this embodiment may be applied to various liquidejecting apparatuses including a liquid ejecting head for discharging aminute amount of liquid drop. The term “liquid drop” indicates a stateof liquid discharged from the liquid ejecting apparatus, and includesparticle state, tear drop state, and thready state. The term “liquid”used here may be any material as long as it can be ejected by the liquidejecting apparatus. For example, it may be a substance in the state ofliquid phase, and includes not only liquid-state substances having ahigh or low viscosity, fluid state substances such as inorganic solventsuch as sol and gel water, organic solvent, solution, liquid stateresins, liquid state metals (melted metal), or liquids as a state of thesubstance, but also those obtained by dissolving, dispersing, or mixingparticles of functional material formed of solid state substance such aspigment or metal particles in solvent. Representative examples of theliquid include ink as described in the embodiment and liquid crystal.The term “ink” here includes various liquid compositions such as generalwater-based ink, oil-based ink, gel ink, or hot-melt ink. Detailedexamples of the liquid ejecting apparatus include liquid ejectingapparatuses which eject liquid containing materials such as electrodematerial or colorant in the form of dispersion or dissolution used formanufacturing, for example, liquid crystal displays, EL(electroluminescence) displays, surface emission-type displays, or colorfilters, liquid ejecting apparatuses which eject biological organicsubstance used for manufacturing biochips, liquid ejecting apparatuseswhich are used as accurate pipettes and eject liquid as a sample, textprinting apparatuses, or microdispensers. Furthermore, a liquid ejectingapparatus for ejecting lubricant for pinpoint lubrication for precisemachines such as watches or cameras, a liquid ejecting apparatus forejecting transparent resin liquid such as UV-cured resin on a substratefor forming a micro-semispherical lens (optical lens) used for opticalcommunication elements or the like, and a liquid ejecting apparatus forejecting etching liquid such as acid or alkali for etching the substrateor the like may be employed. The invention may be applied to any one ofthese liquid ejecting apparatuses.

1. A sheet member transporting apparatus configured to transport aflexible sheet member, comprising: a feeding device configured to feedthe sheet member toward the downstream side in the direction oftransport; a supporting device having a supporting member which iscapable of supporting one of the surfaces of the sheet member fed by thefeeding device, the supporting member being pivotable about a pivotingshaft that extends along the width direction of the sheet member thatintersect the direction of transport of the sheet member, and atransporting device configured to receive the sheet member that ispivoted together with the supporting member in a state of beingsupported by the supporting member of the supporting device from thesupporting device and transport the sheet member toward the downstreamside in the direction of transport.
 2. The sheet member transportingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the supporting member includesan abutting portion which is capable of coming into abutment with thesheet member fed by the feeding device at a downstream side end thereofin the direction of transport from an upstream side in the direction oftransport.
 3. The sheet member transporting apparatus according to claim1, wherein the supporting member includes a curved surface portion whichis capable of coming into surface contact with one of the surfaces ofthe sheet member.
 4. The sheet member transporting apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the transporting device includes a transportingroller extending along the width direction, and a rotating deviceconfigured to rotate the transporting roller, the supporting member isformed with a depression at a downstream side end in the direction oftransport, and the depression opposes the transporting roller when thesupporting member is pivoted toward the transporting device.
 5. Arecording apparatus comprising: a recording device configured to performrecording by causing a recording material to adhere to a sheet member;and the sheet member transporting apparatus according to claim 1.